Aries Official Faces New Charge

A former principal in what was Miami-based Aries Insurance Company has been arrested on a new charge of grand theft for allegedly stealing nearly $100,000 in premiums intended to buy insurance policies from an unlicensed insurance company.

Saul Fraynd, 41, was arrested mid-January following an investigation by the state Department of Financial Services (DFS) Division of Insurance Fraud. Fraud detectives determined that he misappropriated $96,000 in insurance premiums while owner and operator of All Risk Underwriters, LLC, in 2003. Fraynd still faces charges of racketeering and fraud stemming from Aries' financial collapse.

“We will leave no stone unturned in our effort to root out those who would take advantage of our citizens,” said Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher, who oversees the department. “I applaud our detectives for diligently pursuing every tip and every trail.”

All Risk was operating without a license as administrator for Native Assurance, which offered health, life, and workers' compensation insurance through an interactive web site and several affiliates. The $96,000 was insurance premiums customers paid to obtain insurance policies from Native Assurance, but none of the money collected was forwarded for the purchase of policies, according to fraud investigators. Less than $4,900 eventually was returned to victims.

Saul Fraynd, his father, Marcos, brother, Paul, and sister, Fannie, were charged in 2004 with diverting more than $60 million from Aries Insurance. Aries had about 70,000 policyholders when it was ordered into receivership in 2002. As a result, state guaranty funds were required to pay more than $100 million to cover outstanding claims and return premiums to policyholders. The charges stemming from Aries are still pending.